The 10-inch MSI Wind was one of the first netbooks—low-cost, compact laptops designed for online use that have become popular tools in districts.
The development of the first personal computer in 1971 began a process that has led to a computer reduced in size, weight and cost, which makes it increasingly popular in education—the netbook. Initially caught flat-footed by the concept, major manufacturers are scrambling to produce their own models, sometimes working with district leaders to test them.
Thanks largely to cloud computing, which provides access to data only through the Internet, and the Intel Atom processor, built purposely for affordable and easy-touse mobile devices, netbooks are proving to be effective one-on-one learning tools for students and, with a price range starting at about $200, a good buy for districts with tight budgets.
Unlike stripped-down versions of full-function laptops, which they might resemble at first glance, netbooks provide sufficient computing power and all the basic features necessary for most educational uses—at lower costs than conventional laptops. Netbooks are launching what some experts see as a new megatrend in computers. According to Gartner Inc.,an information technology research company, nearly 10 percent of the PC market could be netbooks by the end of this year.
Historically, computer use and computer products have grown at a fast rate since the 1980s. By 1986, a quarter of high schools used PCs for college and career guidance. In 1994, most classrooms had at least one PC available for instructional delivery. As the 20th century ended, many schools were rewiring for Internet access, and some were installing Web servers and providing teachers with a way to create instructional Web pages. Students accessed them initially on PCs and then conventional laptops.
The creation in 2005 of the nonprofit One Laptop per Child (OLPC) organization by Nicholas Negroponte and others from the Media Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology led to today’s netbooks, suggests Alice E. Owen, executive director of technology in the Irving (Texas) Independent School District and chair of the Texas K-12 Chief Technology Officers Council.
When OLPC devised the design for a “$100 Laptop,” also known as a “Children’s Machine,” and later produced it as the XO-1 computer, “they revolutionized some of the technology for laptops, and that’s what we were waiting for,” says Owen, who also has served on national committees to develop standards for the educational technology community. Until then, she explains, the only option for districts was to buy expensive business-model laptops for their students. “At one point, we were paying close to $1,800 per machine, with the warranty and all the bells and whistles that came with it. That’s what the vendors were bidding. We kept telling them we didn’t need that big a laptop with all those extras; we’d like something smaller. But none of the big manufacturers saw that as a market.”
When OLPC came into being, some in the computer industry, including Apple CEO Steve Jobs, derided it as a joke, an idea that seemed unrealistic to achieve. They stopped laughing when OLPC began rolling out its XO in 2007 and it became a huge hit. Initially targeted for children in developing countries and not the United States, it fulfilled the vision of a super-cheap student laptop with enough power to do real-world work. Suddenly, says Owen, vendors thought maybe there was a market for students.
First-graders at Hanes Elementary School in the Irving (Texas) Independent School District use netbooks for class assignments.
School Beta Tests
Now several major manufacturers are targeting the K12 market, some with products so new—Fujitsu just launched a netbook on June 2—that they are working with districts to test their devices and then are tweaking them based on the feedback they get from teachers and administrators. For example, Acer America is inviting districts to participate in its K12 Seed Unit Program and get a free 30-day trial of its new Aspire One netbook. Program participants take part in conference calls with Acer representatives before and after the test run to discuss their own technology setups and needs and give their impressions of the netbook. Afterward, the participating schools and districts are entered into a drawing for a grand prize of a fully equipped computer lab or three runner-up prizes of up to 30 Acer netbooks for a classroom. August 31 is the deadline to apply for the Seed Unit Program.
"We kept telling them we didn't need that big a laptop with all those extras; we'd like something smaller." -Alice E. Owen, executive director of technology, Irving (Texas) Independent School District
